Ed's Story
by Animatic Psychopath
Summary: Ed recalls and decides to tell Marcie,Rebecca and Claudia the story of what prompted him to leave the orphanage. (Special Guests From LivingOnLaughs And HPDrummerman.)
1. Chapter 1

**ED'S STORY**

**CHAPTER 1: WHAT USED TO BE NORMAL**

Out of everyone who was now officially considered part of the gang of boys and girls who lived in the average suburban neighborhood of Sparkyville in Hennepin County,Minnesota,Ed was probably the most interesting kid out of all of them to an extent aside from one of the gang's very own,Claudia. If it wasn't just the fact that Ed was an orphaned hermit who preferred to live out in the woods whenever he could,or the fact that he was an extremely fluent animal whisperer that was only being rivaled by his own girlfriend,Rebecca,or even the fact that he had an entire crew and team of animals in a small hideout somewhere across the country,but rather the fact that Ed's overall backstory was a huge mystery.

Now that's not to say that most of the kids didn't have the bullet point version of Ed's story that he could easily explain in under a minute,because most of them in fact did very well indeed. Many of the kids had known that he was dropped off at an orphanage in Sparkyville by his parents not very long after he was born,and due to his overall inability to properly fit in with the rest of the kids and get adopted by any wanting parents,he ended up hightailing it out of there one day with the help of a friend of his named Ashlynn,and decided to live the bulk of his life away from society. However aside from those aforementioned bullet points,the rest of his backstory was honestly not that well known and something that wasn't really brought up,until now.

It was currently the middle of a positively lovely autumn day and Ed himself was sitting on a bench in the downtown city area of Sparkyville and staring up ahead at a large,mansion like building across the street while he toyed around with the slowly falling autumn leaves,he didn't say a single word and merely wore a small nostalgia filed smile on his face for some unknown reason. The boy continued to glance up ahead at the mansion like this for about another minute until he suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to him from the left "Oh there you are Ed. We've been looking for you." to which the hermit perked up and turned over to see Rebecca,her beagle Roger,Marcie and Claudia walking towards him before the later happily greeted her friend "H-hello Ed. W-we m-missed you."

"It's about time we found you. Or else we would have guessed that you already up and left." Marcie nodded her head and calmly greeted Ed afterwards to which the boy cheerfully greeted his four friends "Well hello there girls,what brings y'all all the way out here?" before Rebecca calmly clarified things while they sat down on the bench with him "Us,Patty,Franklin and Lucy were thinking of going to see a movie later on,and we were gonna see if you wanted to come."

"Ah,yeah sure i'll go." Ed softly gasped and happily agreed to go with his friends to the movie later on before Claudia meekly asked out of curiosity "S-so Ed w-what are you d-doing out h-here?" to which the boy redirected his attention back to the mansion across the street and explained himself "Oh I was just checking out my old abode to see how it's looking after all these years,and it's surprisingly mostly the same."

"Really? This was the orphanage you used to live at?" Marcie raised an eyebrow and asked out of a sense of intrigue as Ed nodded his head and happily confirmed that it was "Yep it sure is,I still wonder if any of my old uh "buddies" aside from Ashlynn have been adopted yet." before Rebecca looked over at the orphanage herself and guessed with a shrug of her arms "Beats me,although I do think they probably have by now. So I take it you're feeling all super nostalgic right now?"

"Uh-huh,I sure have a lot of memories of this place. Some good,some….not so much." Ed stretched out his arms and nonchalantly replied before Claudia politely asked out of curiosity "S-since we got plenty of t-time before the movie,w-would you like to s-share some of them?" to which Ed sat straight up and happily obliged "Oh sure thing Claudia,I've actually been wanting to tell y'all some of my stories for quite a while now. I just haven't had the time."

"Well,fire away with whatever you can think of Ed." Rebecca chuckled and cheerfully suggested as Marcie nodded her head and happily added "We got all the time in the world for now,we might as well try to use some of it." before Ed started rubbing his chin and pondered "Well,I suppose I'll tell y'all the story of what actually got me to leave this darn place to begin with. I don't exactly remember how old I was or how many years ago it was,but I definitely remember that it was back when I still had both my eyes and two front teeth. Now the thing about this orphanage in particular that makes it stand out,is that it's owned by one of Sparkyville's top tier businessmen,Johnathon Griffin,and he was so loaded with money that he was able to make it a place where you could adopt a kid,duh,but also apply for a job,give to the needy,do scientific research in the library,all that kind of stuff. But that's beside the point,because my story begins on an average autumn day just like this one,and me and all the other kids were up and about because it was none other than…..adoption day."

_**YEARS EARLIER**_

It was the start of a typical autumn morning in the downtown area of Sparkyville,and it was also proving to be quite the busy day in the local orphanage since all of the kids upstairs were frantically getting themselves ready for adoption interviews with who knows how many visitors,and speaking of which,many men and women were already down in the front lobby and patiently waiting for themselves to get on with the interviews.

_Welcome to a flowing font of truth and good and cash._

_If you're looking for the loot to toot a flute or cure or rash._

_If you're down on luck and need a buck we'll fund you in a flash._

_(If you'd like to write a piece on Saint-Denis or Delacroix.)_

_(If you must research the church of Christ or works of Myrna Loy.)_

_(Don't be bashful,we've a stashful.)_

_(Don't be timid.)_

_(Don't be coy.)_

_Baring market crashes,floods or worse inflation._

_Baring fiscal flops or fierce devaluation._

_In a world where next to nothing comes for free._

_(Bet you'd never thought you'd ever live to see.)_

_So divine a shrine to fine philanthropy,at the Sparkyville Orphanage LTD!_

Meanwhile on a single floor up above,many of the orphanage's own kids were looking down into the lobby through a crack in the floor,with a younger Ashlynn and Ed with both of his eyes and two front teeth being two of them,and they were all extremely anxious and curious as to when the first interviews would start. All the while the workers down below decided to try and keep the clearly bored visitors entertained with some special trivia of the very establishment they were at.

_**Man #1 **__We've just handed Norman Mailer fifteen thou to vent his spleen._

_**Kids: **__Adopt us! Adopt us!_

_**Woman #1: **__Here's a grant to Will Durant and to the Reverend Fulton Sheen._

_**Kids: **__Adopt us! Adopt us!_

_**Man #2: **__Me I'm writing the biography of Butterfly McQueen._

_**Workers: **__Here's four grand for Orson Bean!_

_Drive to town,come down,fill out an application._

_We're a boon to the artistic population._

_**Man #1: **__They're as generous as anyone can be._

_**Man And Woman: **__As enlightened and urbane as "Camera Three." _

_**Woman #2: **__We'll support you and we'll serve you herbal tea._

_**Workers: **__At the Sparkyville Orphanage LTD!_

"What time was your appointment with Mr Griffin and the children scheduled for?" One of the men politely asked one of the other men sitting next to him as the man nonchalantly replied "10:30 this morning." before the man sighed and retorted "Mine was for 11. What time is it now?"

"11:45." One of the women sitting next to him suddenly replied in a very bored tone of voice as all the kids on the upper floor rolled their eyes and groaned when they overheard it before one of the older girls moaned "Of course he's late."

_**Worker: **__Here's a copy of "Horizon" to amuse you while you wait._

_**Kids: **__As per usual the president is just a little late._

_**Kids And Workers: **__But unless like you'd like to leave and ask for funding from the state-_

"Hey can somebody give me a hand please? I've got a lot of books here and ahhh!" Another man's voice suddenly cut everyone off as all the residents in the lobby and the kids redirected their attention over to the front door to see none other than the orphanage's owner and manager,Johnathan Griffin step through the front door with a stack of books in his hands,much to the relief of the kids,workers and potential parents.

_**Kids And Workers: **__Hail,Johnathan Griffin._

_President and chairman._

_Beacon of obliging noblesse._

_Philanthropist deluxe._

_Hail,Johnathan Griffin_

_Rarest of those rare men._

_**Worker #1: **__Sir,you're late._

_**Worker #2: **__Your datebook's a mess._

_**Worker #3: **__Your wife called._

_**Worker #4: **__Here's your guests._

"Ah yes,it's time to officially start the interviews,and one of you could potentially take home a child of your very own today!" Mr Griffin chuckled and cheerfully announced as the kids up one floor started cheering in excitement while Mr Griffin started leading his first scheduled client towards his office up stairs.

_**Mr Griffin: **__It's a joy to care for children and help find them some loving homes._

_**Kids And Workers: **__Willingly! Willingly!_

_**Mr Griffin: **__Help the Minnesota Grand Opera to produce Die Valkyrie._

_**Kids And Workers: **__Chillingly! Chillingly!_

_**Mr Griffin: **__And we built a "Y" in Tenafly and two in Tennessee._

_**Kids And Workers: **__Yes he did that! Yes-sir-ee!_

_What a fella,fine example,what a paragon,a saint._

_So he is! So he is!_

_What a pal to those who work in prose or poetry or paint._

_We know he is! We know he is!_

_He's devoted and he's loaded so we haven't a complaint._

_And we state without restraint._

_He's the object of our abject adulation._

_**Mr Griffin: **__I'm an outright blight of love and inspiration._

_**Kids: **__He's the Sparkyville Orphanage LTD!_

**NEXT CHAPTER: WHO STAYS AND WHO GOES?**

"**The Rosewater Foundation." Copyright Of Menken Music,Shoptalk LTD,And Kurt Vonnegut. Written By Alan Menken And Howard Ashman. **


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: PICKING OFF**

_**PRESENT DAY**_

"It sure sounds like it was quite the busy day for you and all the other kids." Marcie calmly remarked while she,Ed,Rebecca,Claudia and Roger were walking down the street and heading back to their side of town as Ed nodded his head and retorted "Oh it absolutely was Marcie,it wasn't just the fact that every one of us had to go through interviews,but it was also the fact that we had to do an interview with EVERY SINGLE parent who was looking to adopt a kid! That is completely nuts."

"W-wow Ed. I-it sure is." Claudia softly gasped and added in a shocked and bewildered tone of voice as Ed chuckled and continued on from before "So the day went by as busy and as tiring as we all thought it was. We all went through our interviews and made sure to be on our best behavior as well,and once the end of the day came,it was time for all of us to be rounded up to see who would get adopted." before Rebecca sighed and meekly asked "And I guess things for you and Ashlynn didn't go too well?" to which the boy sharply replied "Nope,no they didn't."

_**YEARS EARLIER**_

All of the kids in the orphanage including Ed and Ashlynn were lounging around and chatting about in their bedroom and anxiously waiting to see who was gonna be adopted that day after they had all finished their numerous interviews with the guests,and all they really had to do was wait for Mr Griffin to finish discussing the matter with the visitors.

"So Ed,do you think you're gonna be picked?" A slightly younger and less tall Ashlynn asked out of curiosity as she looked up at the ceiling from her bed only for Ed to cynically retort while he was chatting with and feeding a few birds from a nearby window "I doubt it,Mr Griffin has probably told them all the other stuff about me after the interview. I doubt they're gonna want a kid who can talk to animals as a family member." to which Ashlynn sighed and politely retorted "Well Ed,I've been here for two years longer than you and I've still been given sloppy seconds every adoption day. I highly doubt someone won't adopt you just because you're a high tier animal whisperer."

"Tell that to ninety nine percent of the other kids here." Ed chuckled and playfully retorted as he continued to feed the birds at the window before Ashlynn tried yet again to lighten up her friend's mood,only for her to be quickly prevented from doing so when one of the other kids suddenly shouted while he was looking through the bedroom door's keyhole "He's coming everyone! Places!" to which Ed frantically told the birds "Ah man,you guys have got to go now!" All of the birds then saluted and quickly flew off to parts unknown almost like they were trained to do so as Ed quickly shut the bedroom window and joined the rest of the other kids in making sure they looked presentable for Mr Griffin. After about ten more seconds of this frantic and chaotic display,the kids would all be suddenly halted when they heard the door knob twisting open as they all stopped what they were doing and turned to face Mr Griffin who had now entered the room with a clipboard in hand.

"Hello Mr Griffin!" All of the kids including Ed cheerfully greeted their father figure at the mere sight of him as the man happily greeted them back "Ah good evening children! What a lovely evening it is indeed,and I sure have some amazing news for you all,because tonight a big lot of you will finally be heading home with a new family." to which most of the kids cheered in excitement and anticipation while Ed merely rolled his eyes at the display.

"Alright settle down children." Mr Griffin chuckled and politely requested as the kids did so on command before the man looked at his clipboard and cheerfully announced "Okay would Jonathon,Daisy,Lola,Lincoln,Bruce,Dina,Sebastian,Ellie,Arnold,and Eugene pack your bags and follow me down to the main lobby?" to which over half of the bedroom started roaring with cheers and quickly began to pack all of their things in excitment,while the rest of the kids merely wore looks of completely disappointment,all except for Ed who instead coldly murmured to himself "Of course."

After all of the lucky kids who were chosen to be adopted had all gotten themselves ready and joined Mr Griffin's side,the man looked down at the rest of the disappointed kids and sympathetically stated with a frown "I'm really sorry that the rest of you couldn't find homes,but there's always next time children. There's always next time." before he proceeded to slowly make his way towards the front door with the chosen kids.

"Always next time?" Ed sighed and quietly asked himself in a bitter and tired tone of voice before one of the other kids scoffed and fiercely retorted when he ended up hearing him "Oh please like your sorry self is ever gonna get adopted,you have to resort to talking to animals for company. Can't you pronounce the word "never?" only for Ed to grow an anger induced scowl and instantly retort "Oh really,well I heard your mother couldn't pronounce the words "stop" and "no" and that's why she had you!" to which the kid immediately punched Ed in the face and knocked him down on the ground.

"HEY!" Ashlynn gasped and angrily shouted in a panic at the sight as the rest of the kids started chanting "Fight!" over and over again to which Ed slowly regained his posture and lunged at the other kid before they proceeded to get into a violent fist fight,only for them to be quickly interrupted when Mr Griffin suddenly stepped in between them and shouted "That's enough children! That's enough,you'll all get adopted one day."

"Really? What makes you think that lonely waste of space is ever gonna get adopted?" The kid who had gotten into a fight with Ed scoffed and mockingly asked as the former angrily sneered and retorted "Oh kiss my ass!" to which the entire room gasped in response to his usage of profanity before Mr Griffin sternly demanded "Ed! When I'm done with these other kids,you will see me in my office!"

"No! I'll just go there right now and wait for you! I hate this damn place!" Ed instantly agreed to partake in Mr Griffin's demands as he stormed right past him and the other kids and proceeded to make his way towards Mr Griffin's office,leaving the rest of the bedroom in complete silence for a few moments until Mr Griffin sighed and meekly told the chosen kids "Come on children,let's get y'all home." before they left the bedroom and made their way towards the front lobby.

"Pfft,what a loser." The kid who Ed had gotten into a fight with folded his arms and mockingly insulted the former only for Ashlynn to suddenly slap him hard in the face and fiercely retort "Shut up Arin! That was all on you!" before she stomped over to her bed and sat down on the edge of it,leaving the rest of the kids even more awestruck than before.

**NEXT CHAPTER: A CHAT WITH THE BOSS**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: A FRIENDLY CHAT**

Ed was sitting down in the middle of Mr Griffin's main office and in front of his desk after his little outburst from earlier,not only did he end up getting into a fight with another kid named Arin,who honestly did deserve to get slugged around like he did,but he also ended up using the "a" and "d" word back to back in a very brash and rough tone of voice as well,so it was pretty understandable and expected to see that Ed would receive some sort of punishment after Mr Griffin had sent off the lucky batch of kids to their new homes. After about five more minutes of impatient waiting,Ed would be incredibly relieved when he suddenly heard the door to the office opening behind him as he turned around and bitterly moaned "You're late,it's about time you showed up." to which Mr Griffin politely corrected him "No you were just early." before he sat down behind his desk,clasped his hands together,looked Ed straight in the eyes and meekly stated "Ed…..this behavior of yours needs to stop,you know that right?"

"What do you think I'm not trying to do that?" Ed scoffed and asked back in a slightly more bitter and angry tone of voice as Mr Griffin shook his head and calmly retorted "That's not what I said. What I'm saying here is that the swearing,the fights,it's all got to go if you want someone to adopt you,don't you want that? And you've been doing so well in keeping it under control lately." before Ed sighed and timidly replied "But it was all Arin's fault,he was the one who started saying that I would never get adopted because I can talk to animals. Like what gives him the right to speak on behalf of other people me or him haven't even met?" to which Mr Griffin nodded his head and surprisingly agreed "Yes it was him who started it all,I will talk to him about it as well and he certainly will be punished. But this is about you Ed,we both know you're…..different compared to other kids."

"Understatement of the entire millennium." Ed rolled his eyes and jokingly retorted in response as Mr Griffin straightened out his slightly crooked glasses and continued "That's REALLY a bit of an exaggeration Ed,but the point I'm trying to make is that you seriously need to try and make some friends here,people who will look out and care for you. I know most of the other kids treat you horribly,but if Ashlynn was able to warm up to you the way that she did,I think the other kids should be able to do that just fine." before Ed firmly retorted "Well Ashlynn ended up telling me that she was nothing short of a pariah just like me when she first came here,and it was only when I arrived two years after her that she tried to get someone to remotely like her. So I think that act of hers was more out of desperation than someone finally deciding to warm up to me." to which Mr Griffin sighed and replied with a small smile "Well I'd personally say that her warming up to you out of a desperate need for friends,was better than you not having any friends at all. And also Ed,there are kids who have stayed here for much longer than you before they were eventually adopted,so don't you go thinking that you'll never get adopted yourself,despite your differences compared to the other kids."

Afterwards Mr Griffin and Ed's attention would suddenly be diverted over to the nearby grandfather clock when they heard a sudden,loud ticking come from it as the former looked at his watch and stated while he got out of his chair and headed to the office door "Well,it looks like it's right about dinner time. I'm gonna go get us all some pizzas,for the moment you are dismissed,I'll be back very soon and Jeffery is in charge while I'm gone." before he exited the office and headed off to tell the rest of the kids,with Ed following shortly afterwards.

* * *

Sometime later after Mr Griffin had left the orphanage,Ed decided to spend some of the free time he was given alone as he slowly walked down some of the sunlit hallways despite it getting very close to nighttime outside,he didn't say a single word and instead kept himself completely silent aside from some of his own personal thoughts pounding in his head. Ed continued to act like this for about another minute until he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he passed by a window and saw what looked like a small hawk flying freely past by it.

"What I wouldn't give to get out of this place for a day." Ed sighed and hopefully stated as he opened the window and was immediately exposed to some of the cool evening air blowing by while he looked up at the hawk,before he eventually glanced down at the slightly populated city street below that was filled with kids coming walking home from school.

_**Ed: **__Stuck behind these windows and these parapets of stone._

_Gazing at the people down below me._

_All my life I've watched them as I'm kept up here alone._

_Hungry for the histories they show me._

_All my life I've memorized their faces._

_Knowing them as they will never know me._

_All my life I've wondered how it feels to pass a day._

_Not above them._

_But part of them._

It was then and there that Ed suddenly felt a huge feeling of adrenaline and excitement overwhelm him since he quickly climbed out the window and decided to climb up some of the nearby pipes as he tried to make his way up to the top of the mansion.

_And out there,living in the sun._

_Give me one day out there._

_All I ask is one,to hold forever._

_Out there,where they all live on and aware._

_What I'd give._

_What I'd dare._

_Just to live,one day out there._

_Oh there among the millers and the weavers and their wives._

_Through the roofs and gables I can see them._

_Every day they shout and scold and go about their lives._

_Heedless of the gift it is to be them._

_If I was in their skin. _

_I'd treasure every instant._

_Out there,strolling by the seine._

_Taste a morning out there._

_Like ordinary men._

_Who freely walk about there._

_Just one day and then I swear I'll be content,with my share._

_Won't resent._

_Won't despair._

_Old and bent._

_I won't care._

_I'll have spent one day out there!_

**NEXT CHAPTER: A STARRY NIGHT**

**Author's Note**

**With this story in particular,I'm aiming for most of the chapters to be short,sweet and to the point and not overly pad them out a whole lot. So don't expect SUPER long chapters like I usually do like with my other stories. **

"**Out There." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written By Alan Menken And Stephen Schwartz.**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: STARLIGHT LULLABY**

_**PRESENT DAY**_

"I-it sure sounds l-like you were a-anxious to g-get out of t-there." Claudia sighed and sympathetically guessed while she,Ed,Rebecca,Marcie and Roger sat down at a bench in the park as Ed nodded his head and enthusiastically agreed "You bet I was,Ashlynn was one of the only kids there who didn't make me not to jump out a window every chance I could. It's because of her that I got through it all in the first place." before Marcie smiled and happily remarked "Well that's what friends like her are for Ed,Patty is making things in regards to Hans moving back slightly easier for me." to which Rebecca suddenly perked up and meekly stated "Oh yeah I heard all about that,I'm sorry Marcie."

"Yeah me too,that really bites." Ed couldn't help but agree with Rebecca in regards to Hans moving back to Germany before they all suddenly heard the voice of Rattler call out to them "Hi there,we weren't expecting to see y'all here." to which the group turned their heads over to the right to see her,Thibault and Andy walking towards them as Ed cheerfully greeted them back "Oh hello you three,nice to see y'all about."

"Hi everyone,surprised to see you all." Thibault politely greeted the group with a wave of his arm as Roger jumped down to greet Andy with a high five before Marcie calmly replied in response "We could say the same to you three,how are you doing?" to which Rattler nonchalantly clarified "We were just walking around town as a way to pass the time. What about you guys?"

"W-we were j-just sitting a-around as a way t-to pass the time w-with a s-story from Ed." Claudia politely explained themselves and what they were doing at the park while Rebecca nodded her head and enthusiastically continued "Yeah the story of how Ed left the orphanage and became a hermit. No offense babe." to which Thiibault immediately showed interest in the story as he sat down in an empty space on the bench with Andy and Rattler following afterwards "Oh I definitely need to hear this then,considering that we don't know you as well compared to every one else."

"Yeah it's not like we got anything better to do right now. Fire away Ed." Rattler couldn't help but agree with Thibault along with a slight hint of intrigue in her voice as Ed grew a small grin and happily obliged "Sure thing,basically what happened before was that it was adoption day at the orphanage,me and Ashlynn didn't get adopted,I got in a fight with another kid named Arin,got sent to the office and was sent off when the chairman went to go get some food. Now this is where things get a little more interesting."

_**YEARS EARLIER**_

It was long after the sun had set in Sparkyville and it looked like things were starting to settle down,many of the employes had been sent home for the day and it was starting to get very quiet around that area of town. Back at the orphanage it also looked like things were settling down as a lot of the kids were getting ready to head off to bed for the night,including Ashlynn since she now wore a small pink pair of pajamas instead of her normal pair of clothes. After the rest of the kids had all gotten themselves ready for bed,turned off all the lights and had tucked themselves into bed,Ashlynn was just about to join them and head off to sleep as well until she suddenly noticed that Ed's bed was entirely vacant and that one of the windows next to it was open,with a little bit of wind blowing the curtains attached to it.

Ashlynn was of course a little confused by this since even though she hadn't seen Ed at all during dinner time,she was at least expecting him to be back upstairs in the bedroom,but alas he was entirely absent. Ashlynn continued to stare at the open window and empty bed for a few more moments until she eventually decided to investigate as she crept over to the window and looked out expecting to see Ed in the courtyard down below,only to be met with the sight of an entirely empty courtyard. Ashlynn was even more confused by the sight and she was starting to think that Ed had just snuken out,since that was something he and some of the other kids liked to do despite them being completely indifferent to each other personally.

However just as Ashlynn slowly trudged away from the window and was about to head off to bed,she would suddenly be halted dead in her tracks when she heard a faint coughing noise come from behind her as she quickly headed back to the window and looked outside a second time,only to yet again see nothing aside from an empty courtyard before she suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to her from above "Ashlynn?" to which she raised an eyebrow and slowly looked upwards to see none other than Ed sitting on the top sill of another window and looking down at her.

"Ed,there you are." Ashlynn quietly gasped and greeted her friend in a surprised tone of voice as she climbed out the window,grabbed a nearby pole and climbed up to join him before the boy asked out of curiosity "What were you looking for me?" to which the girl politely replied when she reached the window sill and sat next to him "Well sort of,you never showed up at dinner,I was wondering where you were."

"Sorry for worrying you,I just wasn't too hungry." Ed got a little red in the face and meekly apologized for making Ashlynn worry about him before the girl grew a slight look of concern and timidly asked "Did the talk with Mr Griffin make you want to be alone?" to which Ed sighed and shamefully confirmed that it did while he hung his head "A little,we just went over the typical stuff about how I need to do better,how I need to make more friends despite you already being more than enough for me,and overall it was just an average talk. But still it did make me wonder about something,I've been trying to do better lately,but even then it wasn't enough for me to get adopted,it makes me wonder if I'll ever get adopted at all,if I'll ever leave this place." Afterwards Ashlynn's slightly concerned face slowly started to turn into a saddened and sympathetic frown after hearing Ed's reasoning for not coming to dinner while he kept himself completely silent afterwards.

However after a few more moments of this,Ashlynn then seemed to get an idea of some sort in mind as she grew a small smile and enthusiastically asked "Hey,you maybe…..wanna sneak out tonight? I heard they have a litter of puppies up for adoption over at Daisy Hill,maybe you could check one of them out?" only for Ed to shake his head and politely decline "Nah I'm good,I don't think the orphanage would even let me have a dog in the first place and even if they did,that would just give the other kids more fuel for their "I'm so lonely that I go to animals for company" narrative. Although I'd be lying if I said I didn't believe them at times." before Ashlynn sighed and tried to sympathize with and comfort the boy "Well Ed,I just want to say that I know how you feel,about being alone and all. My life before I came to the orphanage was awful,absolutely dreadful,and once they took me away from my family and put me here. I felt like no one wanted to talk or have anything to do with me aside from Mr Griffin,but when my first two years passed and you came to this place after your parents brought you here,something clicked between you and me and….we both made each other's lives better,especially mine."

_**Ashlynn: **__My mother was a moon._

_My father was a glampers._

_I made my living scrubbin' floors._

_And disinfectin' hampers._

_I ate my meals from cans._

_I went to bed at nine._

_I'm still scared of the dark._

_But lately I've been fine._

_I'm not alone when the sun goes down._

_Since you came to this town._

"You know Ashlynn,you're kinda right. Makes me wonder what MY life with a family like yours could have been like if the roles were reversed between us." Ed chuckled and couldn't help but sympathize with Ashlynn as the girl smiled in response before Ed started to ponder.

_**Ed: **__I got two sets of twins._

_Don't know why God allowed it._

_I got a mobile home._

_It's peelin' and it's crowded._

_All day I mind the kids._

_At night I walk the streets._

_A boy has gotta live._

_His sibling's gotta eat._

_Folks made fun of me._

_Put me down._

_Till you came to this town._

_**Ashlynn: **__You got a way of makin' someone feel._

_That he is someone real._

_And not just some poor clown to push aside._

_**Ed: **__"Huh?"_

_**Ashlynn: **__You don't look down on no one if he's dumb._

_Or if he's some unimportant person._

_That everyone wants to hide._

_**Ed: **__"Are we even talking about the same person here?"_

_**Ashlynn: **__I always used to think,that God just plain forgot me._

_Or maybe got my life mixed up with someone who is not me._

_I'm still a little scared._

_I'm still a little sad._

_But I got to confess._

_It ain't been half so bad._

_I think I'm comin' around._

_Since you came to this town._

"Ed I'm serious,when you are calm and collected like you usually are,you are a very sweet and kind boy who can see the best in anyone,if they can see the best in you." Ashlynn smiled and happily stated in a very kind and sweet tone of voice to which Ed slowly grew a wide smile in response as Ashlynn slowly began to climb down the pipe,while the kids in the bedroom finally decided to head off to sleep.

_**Kids: **__I always used to think,that God just plain forgot me._

_Or maybe got my life mixed up,with someone who is not me._

_I'm still a little scarred._

_I'm still a little sad._

_But I got to confess._

_It ain't been half so bad._

_I think I'm comin' around._

_**Ed And Ashlynn: **__Since you came to this town._

_Since you came to this town._

_Since you came to this town._

"Ashlynn." Ed suddenly halted Ashlynn in her tracks just as she was about to exit his line of sight as she looked back up at the boy while he smiled and continued "Thanks. Good night." to which the girl smiled back in response before she headed off to bed,leaving Ed behind to look up at the stars by himself.

**NEXT CHAPTER: AN AVERAGE DAY**

"**Since You Came To This Town." Copyright Of Menken Music,Shoptalk LTD And Kurt Vonnegut. Written By Alan Menken And Howard Ashman.**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: A POTENTIAL NEW FRIEND?**

The next day came by pretty quickly after everyone had headed off to sleep for the night,and it was pretty safe to say that the next day was nowhere near as chaotic and busy as the day before. There were no interviews to be seen,no crazy fights between any of the kids,and certainly no last minute adoptions that caused whoever it was for to scream with delight. It was just an average,quiet,run of the mill day that could be summed up as such. It was around 11:30 in the morning and most of the kids were playing outside in the courtyard due to the lovely Autumn weather out on display,which of course meant a lot of raking up piles of leaves just to jump into them afterwards.

Ed on the other hand decided not to join the rest of his peers and partake in the fun they were having and merely decided to spend his late morning day in the orphanage's library,mostly because it was guaranteed to be quiet,and that's not just because it's common decency to be quiet in a library,but rather the fact that rarely anyone spent their time in there other than some of the employees late at night,despite the kids being constantly pressured by Mr Griffin to do so. The interior of the library was remarkably similar to the local one by Birchwood Elementary School and contained all the typical stuff you would expect to see,aside from an actual librarian of course.

Ed like mentioned before was spending his time in the library and appeared to be sitting at a small table and reading Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone,a good read for anyone of any age,he didn't say a single word and instead kept his attention fully on the book,well at least he did for about ten minutes before he suddenly heard the familiar voice of Ashlynn call out from behind "Oh there you are Ed,I was expecting you to be outside with everyone else." to which the boy perked up and turned around to see Ashlynn herself walking towards him.

"Well I could honestly say the same to you,you love playing around in the leaves." Ed chuckled and playfully retorted in response as Ashlynn shrugged her arms and joked while she sat down across from him "Well I was until they all started gathering around to play dodgeball,and if you know my luck when it comes to getting picked,you should know why I decided to come inside." to which Ed softly gasped in response "Oh yeah,I can see why,I'd also like to keep my front teeth in shape. If you're looking for a book to read,there's plenty around-"

_**Voice: **__My own home._

_My own home._

_My own home._

_My own home._

Ed's lighthearted conversation would quickly be interrupted when he suddenly heard a very beautiful and enchanting sounding voice coming from up ahead as his cheerful grin faded away into a slightly confused scowl which Ashlynn quickly noticed since she asked in a slightly concerned tone of voice "Ed,what's wrong?" to which the boy instantly asked in awe "Do you hear that? It sounds like….singing." However before Ashlynn could even bring herself to answer Ed's question,the boy would quickly get out of his chair and try to find the source of the voice as he entered the forest of bookshelves where the voice seemed to be coming from,with Ashlynn following shortly afterwards.

Ed continued to search and search for any sign of life inside the borderline maze for at least ten seconds until he peeked his head out of one particular corner and saw what appeared to be a young girl with brown skin,black curly hair and a dark purple dress sitting on the ground and looking through some sort of book,but alas Ed was too far away and astonished by how beautiful this girl looked to notice as he instantly tried to conceal himself from her sight while still getting a good look at her.

_**Girl: **__Father's hunting in the forest._

_Mother's cooking in the home._

_I must go to fetch the water._

_Till the day that I am grown._

_Till I'm grown._

_Till I'm grown._

_I must go to fetch the water._

_Till the day that I am grown._

Ed could quickly feel his face getting very hot as he continued to look at the girl and hear her amazing singing,however he would quickly be interrupted when he suddenly heard Ashlynn quietly call out from behind "Ed what are you-" before she was quickly halted when Ed turned around,covered her mouth with his hand and frantically requested while he turned back around "Ashlynn,look,do you see what I see?" to which Ashlynn glanced over at the girl,raised an eyebrow and stated in a slightly confused tone of voice after Ed had let go of her "Oh I do Ed,could she be new here? I've never seen her before in my life."

_Then I will have a handsome husband._

_And a daughter of my own._

_And I'll send her to fetch the water._

_I'll be cooking in the home._

_*Humming.*_

_Then I'll send to her fetch the water._

_I'll be cooking in my home._

_*Humming.*_

*CRASH!*

Unfortunately Ed and Ashlynn were so caught up in taking a look at this supposed new kid that they hadn't taken into account that they were both leaning on a smaller bookshelf and that their combined weight resulted in them crashing right through it out of nowhere with a loud crashing sound as the mysterious girl jumped and yelped before she turned over to the left to see a boy and girl laying down in a pile of wood and books.

"Oh,um,hi,it's,uh…...bye!" Ed frantically tried to explain himself and Ashlynn for what they were doing while the girl just stared at them both in awe and confusion before Ed suddenly jumped off of the ground and bolted right out of the library,with Ashlynn following shortly afterwards,and leaving the girl very confused. However she eventually brushed the strange sight aside after a few more moments as she sighed and looked down at her now closed book that had the word "My Families." written on it in cursive gold writing.

**NEXT CHAPTER: THE NEW GIRL**

**"My Own Home." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written By Richard M. Sherman And Robert B. Sherman.**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6: THE NEW KID**

After Ed and Ashlynn had quite frankly embarrassed themselves in front of this mysterious new kid in the library,they were both put on edge mentally and physically as they both tried to avoid the new girl's line of sight during the day,which surprisingly ended up proving very easy to do since they actually hadn't seen her around at all for the rest of the day,much to their confusion yet also to their relief. Later on during the day,all of the kids were lounging around in the bedroom and chatting to each other as Ashlynn asked Ed out of curiosity while they were looking out a window and throwing pieces of bread to flying by birds "Are you sure that you haven't seen her anywhere else? She has to be somewhere around here." only for Ed to shake his head and regretfully confirm that he hadn't "Nope,haven't seen diddly squat of her since the library. Maybe we scared her off."

"Hey if I was being stalked in a library by two other kids,I'd leave the orphanage too." Ashlynn shrugged her arms and playfully joked in response before Ed hung his head and somberly moaned "I just can't get her out of my mind for some reason. I mean she looked absolutely beautiful and had the most incredible voice,I-I don't know how I'd feel if I found out she left the orphanage because of me,assuming she's even a new kid here." to which Ashlynn raised an eyebrow and retorted out of slight confusion "Those are bold words coming from you,like you don't want to find any possible chance to leave this stinking place,I'd say just go whenever you get the chance,I'll be fine."

"Really? You'd be alright with that?" Ed softly gasped and asked in awe as he slowly lifted his head back up and glanced at his friend to which the girl nodded her head and enthusiastically confirmed that she would "Of course I would,as long as it makes you happy,I wouldn't care if you left. Heck with how much animals seem to latch onto you whenever they come by,maybe the wilderness is the best place for you,if you can learn to adapt to it of course." before Ed sighed and slowly turned his back towards the window to stare up at the sky.

"You know….maybe you're-"

"Children! Your attention please! I have an announcement!" The voice of Mr Griffin suddenly interrupted Ed's pondering as all the kids stopped what they were doing and quickly redirected their attention over to the front door,and once Ed and Ashlynn had shut the window and also looked towards the front door to see what Mr Griffin's mysterious announcement was,they would both be left completely shocked when they saw what was none other than the mysterious girl from earlier standing by the man with a suitcase on standby,and the rest of the kids were certainly intrigued by the arrival of this new kid as well since they all started whispering to each other in confusion.

"It's her!" Ashlynn quietly gasped in shock at the mere sight of the girl while Ed on the other hand gave a huge sigh of relief and quietly whispered with a relieved grin "Oh thank the lord that she's still here,maybe now I can actually talk to her and see what she's all about." before Mr Griffin cleared his throat and happily announced as the room quieted down "I am pleased to announce that as of today,we are officially welcoming a new family member to our humble abode,please welcome,Christine!" to which the kids started lightly applauding and cheering while Christine got a little red in the face and timidly waved her hand to everyone across the room. However once Christine's line of sight reached Ashlynn and Ed in the back of the room and saw them both nervously smiling at her,she instantly felt her eyes widen and body tense up while she quickly started to remember their encounter in the library,but something inside her suggested that she appear kind and gentle anyway as she forced another grin on her face.

"Hey,she's looking over here,I think she remembers us." Ed lightly nudged Ashlynn on the arm and happily whispered into her ear as the girl brushed his elbow aside and cynically retorted "Well I expect that she would after that little episode we had in the library,I suggest that we let her come to us if we want to talk to her." to which Ed nodded his head and enthusiastically agreed "Yeah,we should,let's give her time to warm up to us and see what she thinks,as long as the other kids don't corrupt her mind with their rhetoric about me first." before Mr Griffin looked down at Christine and lovingly stated "Christine,you can pick any of the empty beds you want,and once you get yourself settled in,you may join us down below for dinner,meanwhile the rest of you kids come on down!"

As Christine nodded her head and walked over to one of the many empty beds available so she could get herself settled in while the rest of the kids followed Mr Griffin downstairs for dinner,Ed and Ashlynn would suddenly be halted dead in their tracks once they reached the doorway when Arin miraculously blocked it and sternly demanded while he pointed over to Christine "Hold it you two,that new broad over is mine for the taking,and if you ever try to talk to her or do ANYTHING that'll get her to like you sad losers,I'll pound you up and make it look like a damn accident,got it?"

"Wow Arin,how humble,threatening us with violence if we try to treat Christine like an actual human being and not just a prize to be won and paraded around like a trophy." Ed rolled his eyes and bitterly retorted in awe of Arin's borderline misogyny as Ashlynn nodded her head and angrily added "Yeah,try acting like that in front of her face and see what she actually thinks of you." only for Arin to merely ignore their responses and fiercely repeat himself "Got it?!" to which Ed huffed and reluctantly obliged while he shoved himself past the bully "Got it,asshole." with Ashlynn and Arin himself following shortly afterwards,leaving only Christine behind to get herself all set up.

**Ed: So as the days went on by at the orphanage after that,things stayed mostly normal for the most part. Me and Ashlynn stayed true to our own vows and didn't talk to Christine at all,and would instead let her come to us when she felt comfortable doing so,when that time would be however? We didn't know. Even when Arin was out of our sight and we had the perfect chance to hit off a conversation with the girl,we still did nothing,minded our own business,and continued to deal with everything the orphanage and our lives offered.**

_*Montage Starts.*_

_I am a question to the world._

_Not an answer to be heard._

_Or a moment._

_That's held in your arms._

_And what do you think you'd ever say?_

_I won't listen anyway._

_You don't know me._

_And I'll never be what you want me to be._

_And what do you think you'd understand?_

_I'm a boy._

_No,I'm a man._

_You can't take me._

_And throw me away._

_And how can you learn what's never shown?_

_Yeah,you stand here on your own._

_They don't know me._

'_Cause I'm not here._

_And I want a moment to be real._

_Wanna touch things I don't feel._

_Wanna hold on._

_And feel I belong._

_And how can the world want me to change?_

_They're the ones that stay the same._

_They don't know me._

_'Cause I'm not here._

_And you see the things they never see._

_All you wanted I could be._

_Now you know me._

_And I'm not afraid._

_And I wanna tell you who I am._

_Can you help me be a man?_

_They can't break me._

_As long as I know who I am._

_And I want a moment to be real._

_Wanna touch things I don't feel._

_Wanna hold on._

_And feel I belong._

_And how can the world want me to change?_

_They're the ones that stay the same._

_They can't see me._

_But I'm still here._

_They can't tell me who to be._

'_Cause I'm not what they see._

_Yeah,the world is still sleeping' while I keep on dreaming for me._

_And their words are just whispers and lies that I'll never believe._

_And I want a moment to be real._

_Wanna touch things I don't feel._

_Wanna hold on._

_And feel I belong._

_And how can they say I never change?_

_They're the ones that stay the same._

_I'm the one now._

'_Cause I'm still here._

_I'm the one._

'_Cause I'm still here._

_I'm still here._

_I'm still here._

_I'm still here._

**NEXT CHAPTER: FIRST CONVERSATION**

"**I'm Still Here." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written And Performed By John Rzesnik. **


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7: A NIGHT OUT IN THE TOWN**

_**PRESENT DAY**_

"Please tell me that Arin got his comeuppance later on." Thibault groaned and pleaded in an annoyed tone of voice while he and the group continued to sit around at the park before Rattler added equally as annoyed as she rubbed Andy's fur "I know I and the other Serpents can be a little mean sometimes,but this guy makes me wanna vomit." to which Marcie nodded her head and fiercely lamented the bully "I don't say this often,but I'd rather deal with Floyd and be subjected to hearing the "L" word over and over again. And I think you all know how I feel about the "L" word."

"Oh believe me,I do." Rattler shivered and meekly confirmed that she knew about Marcie's utter hatred of the term "Lambcake." as she started to remember what happened to Cobra during Lucy's fairytale sleepover before Ed chuckled and playfully replied "Well I hate to jump up ahead here,but yes,he DID get what was coming to him thank god,but how exactly? Well you'll just have to wait and see." to which Rebecca gave a sigh of relief and happily remarked "Oh thank the lord he did,he sounds a lot like a deadly combination of pre-Homecoming game Lucy and old chauvinist Thibault. No offense Thibault."

"None taken Rebecca." Thibault shook his head and showed no signs of him being offended by Rebecca's choice description of Arin before Marcie rolled her eyes and politely asked out of curiosity "So did you and Ashlynn EVER manage to talk to Christine? I mean Arin's threat to you two sounded pretty legit." to which Ed nodded his head and enthusiastically retorted "Oh we did,a….bout a week after she moved in and settled down. And like we both agreed upon with our vow,we let her come to us."

_**YEARS EARLIER**_

"Okay,where are you wanting to go tonight?" Ed quietly asked Ashlynn out of curiosity while they carefully opened one of the windows in the bedroom in the dead of night to which the girl shrugged her arms and nonchalantly replied "I don't really care Ed,we can go wherever,although I wouldn't mind stopping by Joe's if they're still open." before Ed smiled and happily obliged "Alright then,that's just what we'll do. And Ashlynn,there's something I've been wanting to-"

"Hey Ed?" Another girl's voice suddenly interrupted Ed and Ashlynn's conversation from behind as the two kids jumped and yelped out of shock before they quickly covered their mouths to make sure that none of the other sleeping kids had heard them to which the voice calmly and quietly continued "It's alright you two,it's just me,Christine." Immediately after hearing that the voice belonged to none other than the new kid,Ed and Ashlynn's eyes widened out of a mixture of confusion and shock while they slowly turned around to see Christine herself standing a few feet away from them as Ed meekly stammered "C-Christine?" before Ashlynn added equally as timid "Y-you're talking to us?"

"Hi. I wanted to talk to y'all at least once." Christine nervously greeted the two kids with a slight wave of her hand as Ed's confused and bewildered look on his face slowly began to morph into a smile while he chuckled and replied "W-well that's actually good to know Christine,but this is kind of a bad place and time since we're not only sneaking out,but Arin will kick our asses hard if he finds out we talked to you." before Ashlynn nodded her head and angrily added "He's a real son of a jackal,he's been wanting to hook up with you the moment you started settling in." to which Christine groaned and annoyingly retorted "Oh trust me I know,he's not been doing the best job hiding it. But if you two are sneaking out,why don't I just come with y'all and we can talk from there?"

Ed and Ashlynn were left completely silent afterwards since they were clearly thinking Christine's offer over and whether or not they should let her come,and after about ten more seconds of this,Ed seemed to have finally come to a decision of his own as he grew a small smile and cheerfully obliged "Sure thing girl,that's perfectly fine." before Ashlynn happily agreed as well "Why the heck not? You don't even need to ask for that,welcome aboard." to which Christine smiled widely and enthusiastically exclaimed "Really? Thank you,so uh,where are you two...I mean WE going?"

"Well we were just gonna walk around town for a while and stop by Joe's Cafe on the way back,but since you're coming with us,why don't we go over to the club?" Ed cheerfully explained what they planned on doing and suggested a slight change of plans as Ashlynn raised an eyebrow and retorted in slight confusion "The club? Why there? The place isn't even open at night if you're talking about dancing." before Ed shook his head and politely corrected the girl "Oh not THIS club Ashlynn,the one I'm talking about is just by the museum,is open twenty four hours a day,and I hear they will sell drinks to anyone of any age." to which Ashlynn gasped and playfully remarked while she lightly punched the boy in the arm "Oh so you're planning on being a bad boy tonight. Well you can count me in then,what about you Christine?"

"I'm all for it,maybe this is the perfect time for me to see what this town is all about." Christine shrugged her arms and nonchalantly obliged to go along with Ed's idea as the boy grew a slight look of confusion and asked in response "Wait? You've never been to Sparkyville before? Oh never mind,we can talk about it on the way to the club,it's down the window,past the courtyard,and then you just follow me from there." before he climbed out the window and slid down the pole right next to it while he bid a slight word of caution "Watch yourselves girls,it's a little slippery."

"Don't worry we will." Ashlynn confidently reassured Ed that she and Christine would be fine as the two girls followed after Ed and proceeded to let him guide them to the club,with them being unaware that a shadowy figure was watching them climb out the window from the shadows,and it was abundantly clear that it made the figure furious to the core as it started gritting its teeth and began huffing in anger.

**NEXT CHAPTER: A STROLL THROUGH SPARKYVILLE**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8: A GROOVIN' GOOD TIME**

Ed,Ashlynn and Christine were slowly walking down the city streets and making their way towards this club that Ed was talking about after they had successfully snuck out. It honestly wasn't too much of a surprise that they were able to practically get by undetected since Ed and Ashlynn had already done it many times before,and even Christine was able to do well enough for her first try sneaking out. As the three kids continued to head towards the club,Ed suddenly got a little red in the face and timidly apologized for the fiasco that happened in the library for the first time "So uh,sorry about what happened in the library. I take it you still remember that." before Ashlynn perked up and meekly apologized as well "Oh yeah,that must have been super embarrassing for all of us."

"Hmph,it's okay,I was just a little startled by it,that's all." Christine shrugged her arms and politely forgave the two kids for spooking her in the library as Ed gave a sigh of relief and happily replied "Oh thank god,I was thinking that you were gonna hold a grudge for that,but I can see that you're not really the grudge holding type." to which Christine lightly chuckled in response while Ashlynn rolled his eyes with a small grin and asked out of curiosity "So what made you want to talk to us exactly,I mean surely you must have heard all the stories about Ed and how he's a loser that's so lonely that he needs to talk to animals for company."

"Yeah…..those." Ed sighed and quietly moaned as his enthusiastic smile slowly morphed into a biter and angered filled frown before Christine hung her head down a little and calmly retorted "Actually I have,you see whenever Arin was trying to…..hit on me,he constantly talked about and insulted you,and it was getting me interested in you two for a while,but not for the reasons he probably wanted." to which Ashlynn gritted her teeth and angrily lamented Arin "Man that kid has problems,no wonder no one wants to adopt him from what it looks like. Ed over here is just a big sweetheart if you don't rile him up."

"Uh-"

"I mean you two seem alright so far,certainly not worth the scorn that you get from the other kids." Christine nodded her head and politely interrupt Ed's attempt at a retort as the boy sighed and timidly thanked her with a small smile "Well,thanks for not listening to the others and giving us a chance. You have no idea how refreshing it is to talk to someone else and not get laughed off the playground." before Christine smiled and happily replied "No problem you two."

* * *

After about five more minutes of walking and talking,the kids seemed to have finally made it to the club Ed was talking about since they started approaching a large building with loud music being able to be heard from the outside as the boy stretched out his arms and cheerfully remarked while he ran up ahead and opened the front door for the two girls "Well here we are gang,ladies first!" to which Christine blushed a little and timidly showed her gratitude "T-thank you Ed." before Ashlynn lightly pinched him on the cheek and jokingly complimented him "That's a good boy Ed. You'll get a treat later on."

"But mom I want it now!" Ed scoffed and playfully retorted as he followed after his two friends and shut the door behind him,and once they all made it to the main area of the club which was only down a small hallway up ahead,Ashlynn and Christine were left in absolute awe at the interior of the club. Not only was there a massive multicolored dance floor in the middle of a large square like room,but there were even multiple small hot tubs spread across for anyone to relax in,a bar where you could get food and drinks,and there was even an arcade filled with many classic games to play,some that were even once believed to be lost or destroyed.

"HOLY SHIT!" Ashlynn gasped in a mixture of awe and bewilderment at the entire display as Christine's eyes widened in shock that she had actually sworn like that out loud and glanced over at the red head while Ed laughed and cheerfully asked "You like it?" before the girl nodded her head and ecstatically replied "I don't like it,I love it! We should have been going HERE at night and not that other place! This is nuts!" to which Christine redirected her attention back to the dance floor and couldn't help but be a little impressed herself "I gotta admit,this is something alright,I don't even know where we should start,there's so much to do." However it was then and there that Ed suddenly dashed right past them and made his way over to the packed dance floor as he cheerfully suggested "Who cares what we do first? Let's just do what we feel like for now,and I certainly feel like stretching my arms and legs for a bit right now." before Ashlynn chuckled and happily obliged while she joined him "Alright,there's always time for a little bit of dancing. Cmon Christine." to which the girl got a little red in the face and nervously declined "Oh no,no,I'm not a good dancer by any means."

"Oh come on girl,you'll learn about it along the way,at least give it a try!" Ed scoffed and enthusiastically persisted that Christine join them anyway as the girl rolled her eyes and reluctantly obliged while she slowly made her way down to the dance floor "Against my better sense of judgement,I guess I'll give it a shot." before the three kids smiled at each other and started having their own share of fun which bled on into the early morning,and yes they even did get themselves some drinks.

_Do you remember?_

_The twenty first night of September?_

_Love was changing the minds of pretenders._

_While chasing the clouds away. _

_Our hearts were ringing._

_In the key that our souls were singing._

_As we danced in the night._

_Remember?_

_How the stars stole the night away?_

_(Hey,hey,hey.)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Say do you remember?)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Dancing in September?)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Never was a cloudy day.)_

_(Ba do do,ba do,ba do do,ba do.)_

_(Ba do do,ba do,ba do do,ba do.)_

_(Ba do do,ba do,ba do da.)_

_My thoughts are with you._

_Holding hands with your heart to see you._

_Only blue talk and love._

_Remember?_

_How we knew our love was here to stay?_

_Now December._

_Found the love we shared._

_In September._

_Only blue talk and love._

_Remember?_

_The true love we share today?_

_(Hey,hey,hey.)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Say do you remember?)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Dancing in September?)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Never was a cloudy day.)_

_(It was a ba de ya.)_

_(Say do you remember?)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Dancing in September?)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Golden dreams were shiny days.)_

_Love bells was ringing._

_Our souls were singing._

_Do you remember?_

_Never a cloudy day,yow._

_(It was a ba de ya.)_

_(Say do you remember?)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Dancing in September?)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Never was a cloudy day)_

_(It was a ba de ya.)_

_(Say do you remember?)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Dancing in September?)_

_(Ba de ya.)_

_(Golden dreams were shiny days.)_

_(Ba de ya,de ya,de ya.)_

_(Ba de ya,de ya,de ya.)_

_(Ba de ya,de ya,de ya,de ya.)_

_(Ba de ya,de ya,de ya.)_

_(Ba de ya,de ya,de ya.)_

_(Ba de ya,de ya,de ya,de ya.)_

**NEXT CHAPTER: THE DROPPED BOMBSHELLS**

"**September." Copyright Of Columbia Records. Written By At McKay,Allen Willis And Maurice White. Performed By Earth,Wind And Fire.**


	9. Chapter 9:

**CHAPTER 9: ED'S SECRET**

As it was to be expected the kids had a very good time at the club that Ed had taken to them to,it was arguably the most fun that any of them have had in a LONG time,especially Ed who had been made fun of and lamented for most of his life and the only instances of true happiness he garnered was thanks to Ashlynn lightening up his general mood,usually after experiencing some of Arin's trademark bullying. It was around 5:00 in the morning and the kids were walking through a small patch of woods as a means of a shortcut to make it back to the orphanage,since the city streets were likely gonna cause them to be late due to early morning traffic. The sun was ever so slowly rising over the nearby hills and making it's way into the woods as the numerous autumn leaves surrounding the kids started glowing brightly to which Ashlynn happily remarked in awe at the display "Wow,autumn is such a beautiful time of year,especially in the morning." before Christine nodded her head and couldn't help but agree "Yeah,it's super nice,one of my foster families was completely autumn crazy,and I couldn't really blame them."

"Hold up? Foster families? You're a foster kid?" Ed stopped dead in his tracks and questioned in a confused tone of voice as Ashlynn and Christine stopped as well and turned around to face the puzzled young boy before the former raised an eyebrow and added a little confused herself "A-and you said families? You've been through multiple ones? What's the story here?" to which Christine sighed and reluctantly obliged to tell them everything "I suppose the secret would have gotten out eventually. I never knew my real parents,and they decided to drop me off at a foster home in California when they came to the conclusion that they couldn't take care of me due to their old age and limited funding. However as with every other foster family I've been to across the country,something whether it be me,them or there being just too many kids to take care,I was forced to leave and find a place to call my own somewhere else,that's what the book I was reading in the library was,a photo album of me and my fsmilies. And now it looks like Sparkyville's very own orphanage in Hennepin County,Minnesota is my latest abode."

"Aww that bites. I really hope you can find some way to get adopted soon." Ashlynn softly gasped and showed sympathy for Christine's little problem when it came to her finding a home as Ed nodded his head and meekly agreed while he leaned on a nearby tree "I know,it's one thing to be an orphan for most of your life,but it's entirely another to go from home to home thinking that it's all over,but it's not." to which Christine sighed and timidly replied while she hung her head "Well,I'll just have to keep on going and eventually I'll find a permanent home to call my own. I just have to keep having faith and put in the effort alongside that to make it happen."

"You sound just like Mr Griffin whenever adoption day comes and he gives his don't give up speech to the kids who didn't get adopted." Ed chuckled and playfully joked in response as he got off the tree he was leaning on before his cheerful grin suddenly morphed into a somber,guilt filled frown while he politely requested "Ashlynn,Christine,there's...something I've been meaning to tell y'all,would you be okay to listen to it while we're here? I can't keep stalling anymore."

"Fire away." Ashlynn raised an eyebrow and cautiously obliged to listen to whatever Ed wanted to say as Christine nodded her head and added a little cautious herself "We're all ears Ed,if you got something to tell us,tell us now." before the boy took a deep,long breath,slowly turned around to face away from the two girls and calmly bid them some news "I'm…..gonna leave the orphanage and Sparkyville at sunset." to which the two girls behind him gasped in complete shock.

"Wait you're leaving?!" Christine frantically asked in a mixture of confusion and bewilderment as Ashlynn added equally as dumbfounded with surprisingly enough a smile "You're actually doing it?!" before Ed nodded his head and politely explained himself while he turned around to face his two friends "Yeah,I'm gonna do it,I can't keep living like this anymore. I did some thinking last night,about everything I have gone through,being called names,being bullied by Arin and the other kids,and being borderline rejected by every group of wanting parents that have come here. I'm done with it all…..I just don't think that I really have a place here. Maybe…...maybe the wilderness is the best place for me after all,like you said."

"Ed are you listening to yourself? You can't give up now!" Christine nervously tried to convince Ed to stay at the orphanage while Ashlynn on the other hand respectfully disagreed with the girl "Christine…..I've known Ed for a long time,and once he's made up his mind on something,he's gonna go through with it,and I know we'll both be okay without him,just like he'll be okay without us. Right Ed?" before the boy smiled and replied in an attempt to calm Christine down as he slowly walked up to the two girls "Christine,I know that we've just now become friends and you don't want to see me go so soon,but I'll be perfectly fine and you and Ashlynn will be perfectly fine as well. I have to do this,I….need a place where I'll be accepted,even if it is by animals,because let's face it,people who can talk to animals like me are probably not going to be welcomed by our society any time soon. I'm surprised I didn't realize this sooner."

_**Ed:**_

_I have often dreamed._

_Of a far off place._

_Where a great warm welcome will be waiting for me._

_Where the crowds will cheer._

_When they see my face._

_And a voice keeps saying._

"_This is where I'm meant to be."_

_I will find my way._

_I can go the distance._

_I'll be there someday._

_If I can be strong._

_I know every mile._

_Will be worth my while._

_I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong._

Afterwards Christine's paranoid,nervous and confused look on her face slowly started to change into a slightly more uplifted and comforted smile as she politely asked out of curiosity "So your mind's made up huh? I get it,it's just,I never really got along well with the other kids in my foster families and…..I would hate to lose one of the only friends I've ever had right after I've made them." before Ashlynn patted her on the back and comfortingly reassured her "Don't worry girl,you'll still have me right there by your side,and just because Ed won't be here in person,he'll still be right with you too,wont you Ed?" to which the boy nodded his head and gave a big thumbs up.

It now seemed that was all Christine needed to get on board with Ed's idea to move away from the orphanage as she sighed and comfortably admitted defeat "Alright,you win Ed,break a leg out there." to which Ed grew an even larger smile and happily exclaimed while he jumped up in the air "Woo-hoo! I'm finally gonna be leaving this place! I can start exploring the world,maybe test out my communication skills with more animals and…..and…...be free." before Ashlynn chuckled and playfully suggested "Well,I suggest that we better skedaddle and get yourself ready then."

* * *

Sometime later after Ed,Ashlynn and Christine had made it back to the orphanage and had successfully snuck back in without alerting the employees or the other kids,the boy wasted no time and immediately started packing up what little belongings he had,because he was finally about to set himself free and make the best damn decision of his entire life. He was about to shape his entire future for the better.

_I am on my way!_

_I can go the distance!_

_I don't care how far!_

_Somehow I'll be strong!_

_I know every mile._

_Will be worth my while._

_I would go most anywhere to find where I belong!_

**CHAPTER 10: SEVERING TIES**

"**Go The Distance." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written By Alan Menken And David Zippel.**


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER** 10: PRELUDE TO DISASTER**

**Author's Note: This chapter is meant to be a short buildup to the next one that I'll get out soon,because this is where things get messy. Brace yourselves.**

_**PRESENT DAY**_

Pretty soon it was getting late in the day and around time for Marcie,Rebecca,Ed and Claudia to head off to the theater despite Ed continuing to tell them his story,and they were just waiting for Peppermint Patty,Lucy and Franklin to arrive so they could finally get going while the hermit was hopefully about to wrap up his story. Marcie and the rest of the group were much more understanding of why Ed wanted to leave the orphanage now,granted they all knew the reason why on a surface level explanation earlier,but now that they knew the whole story behind it,they were completely floored and supportive of his decision.

"Wow,I don't blame you at all for wanting to leave that place." Marcie calmly expressed her agreement with Ed's decision to leave the orphanage as Rebecca nodded her head and added while she kissed her boyfriend on the cheek "If you ask me you should have done that a long time ago babe,it would have saved you so much trouble." to which Claudia sighed and tried to lighten up the mood "W-well at least E-Ed left the orphanage a-at all in the f-first p-place."

"Yeah it's better than him staying there and continuing to deal with Arin's bullying all the time,hearing all that stuff you went through makes me wanna march up to him and give him a pounding." Rattler nodded her head and couldn't help but agree with Claudia as Ed chuckled and playfully dropped a bombshell "Well if you want to you can,you'll just have to get access to his cell because he's now locked up in Sparkyville's Juvenile Detention Center." to which the entire group gasped in shock "WHAT?!" before Andy and Roger slapped each other in the face to make sure they heard that right.

"You mean Arin's in jail? What in the world did he do?" Thibault frantically asked in a mixture of confusion and curiosity as Rattler added a little more calmed down and collected "Seriously I gotta hear about this boy,what did he do?" before Rebecca firmly insisted that Ed spill the beans about what happened "Ed,if you don't tell us what he did,I'm breaking up with you." to which Ed shrugged his arms and cheerfully obliged "Alright,I was gonna tell y'all anyway,but I'm warning y'all,this is where things get crazy."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**NEXT CHAPTER: AMBUSH?!**


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11: THE AMBUSH**

_**YEARS EARLIER**_

Ed spent most of the day making sure that him,his clothes and all of his personal belongings were packed and ready to go,all the while making sure that no one could possibly catch onto his scheme,ESPECIALLY Mr Griffin and to a lesser extent Arin. Aside from all that however the day went by pretty smoothly and didn't have anything go wrong,however one thing that was a little odd and offputting was when Ed and Ashlynn were sitting on a bench out on the courtyard with the other kids,and they happened to notice that Arin was staring at them both from up ahead with a look of complete malice and anger on his face.

Usually Arin was one to just bully and chastise Ed at the mere look or mention of him,but instead he just continued to stare at the two kids with this almost kind of intimidating look and presence,even to the point where Ed and Ashlynn got a little uncomfortable and decided to head back inside,with Arin thankfully not following them. Despite Arin's odd and even kind of creepy change in character catching him off guard for a bit,Ed's overall mood throughout the day was nothing short of gleeful and ecstatic,and Christine and Ashlynn were just happy that their friend was finally going to be leaving the orphanage,even if it wasn't in the way they thought he would.

Pretty soon the end of the day had come and the sun was slowly beginning to set outside with quite a beautiful sight being on display,even by sunset standards,and while the rest of the kids were down below having dinner,Ed,Christine and Ashlynn were up in the bedroom and about to head off to the docks,Ed had long since packed everything he owned into a small suitcase and had opened up the nearby window with the intent to climb down and sneak out yet again.

"Man,I can't believe I'm actually doing this." Ed sighed and happily remarked a little surprised himself that he was actually running away as Ashlynn raised an eyebrow and sternly requested in response "Oh no don't you start flip-flopping now Ed! You're getting out of here right now!" before Christine laughed and jokingly retorted "Gee Ashlynn you sound like you want to kick him out." to which Ashlynn rolled her eyes and playfully replied "Oh you know what I mean Christine,he can't just quit right now when he's so close to his freedom."

"Relax Ashlynn I'm not quitting,I'm just taking this all in while I'm still here,it's still kinda bizarre to think that I'm actually getting out of here." Ed chuckled and politely reassured Ashlynn that he wasn't quitting his escape plan while he leaned on the nearby window sill and continued "I mean it's such a big world out there,and there's so much for me to do,to explore,it gets me so excited you know?" before he turned around to face his friends to which they both nodded their heads in support and agreement. However it was then and there that Christine seemed to have a little bit of a surprise up her sleeve as she sighed and gleefully stated "Hold up Ed,I know we're gonna see you off at the dock but,there's something I want to go ahead and give you to remember us bye. Close your eyes." before Ed raised an eyebrow due to a slight sense of intrigue and slowly closed his eyes afterwards.

After about ten more seconds of dead silence,Ed could suddenly feel something be placed on the top of his head quickly followed by Christine cheerfully calling out "Okay,you can open your eyes now." to which Ed slowly reopened his eyes to be immediately greeted by his own reflection in a small mirror that Christine was holding in front of him,and it looked like Ed was now wearing what seemed to be a brown and black fedora on top of his head as he gasped at the display while Ashlynn wolf whistled and happily exclaimed "Woof! Look at that,such style,such grace,oh he's gorgeous!"

"You're giving me a fedora? That's awesome,I've always wanted one of these,and I have to admit it does look good on me." Ed smiled and cheerfully agreed with Ashlynn as Christine got a little red in the face and timidly chuckled "I-it was my biological father's,it was the only thing my original parents gave me before they left,but the thing is I never really got any use out of it,but now I think it should be yours." before Ed gave her a small hug and happily thanked her for the gift "Thanks Christine,I'll cherish it forever." to which the girl slowly joined in and happily replied as well "No problem Ed."

"So,shall we bust you out now?" Ashlynn sighed and enthusiastically questioned in an excited tone of voice as Ed and Christine let go of other and turned arond to face the ginger while the former nodded his head and determinedly agreed "You bet we are." and afterwards they all clasped their hands together and proceeded to sneak out yet again and make their way towards the docks,unaware that someone in the courtyard had unfortunately seen them and was now following them.

* * *

After about a ten minute long walk that was mostly silent and didn't really speed up beyond a somewhat slow pace,the kids were finally starting to approach the city docks with the river of Sparkyville stretching out as far as the eye could see while the setting sun sparkled brightly on the water as Ed sighed and happily remarked "There it is,my one way ticket out of here,I'm gonna grab myself a small boat and make my down the river till I make it to the closest state nearby. Although maybe I'll stop by Daisy Hill and see if any of those puppies are still available." before Christine smiled and politely replied "It sounds like you've really been planning ahead during the day." to which Ashlynn chuckled and playfully retorted "You bet he was,he wouldn't stop talking to me about all his plans out on the courtyard,it almost made me feel like flex tapping his mouth shut."

"Gee thanks for listening." Ed rolled his eyes and sarcastically retorted in response as he stopped at the base of the docks to stare out at the river while Ashlynn and Christine went up ahead to get a closer look at the water,and as it was to be expected there were a few small rowboats tied up to one of the masts that Ed could take out. The boy continued to stare out at the horizon as Ashlynn and Christine sat on the dock's edge for about another minute until he decided that it was finally time for his departure,but just as he was about to take a single step forward however,the feeling of something small,cold and sharp touching the bottom right side of his neck halted him dead in his tracks followed by a very shrill and familiar voice firmly growling "Stop right there!" before Ashlynn and Christine perked up,quickly turned around to see what was going on and gasped in a mixture of shock and fear,all the while Ed merely groaned and greeted the figure that was standing behind him out of annoyance "Hello Arin."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**NEXT CHAPTER: ROUND TWO**


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12: THE SECOND ROUND**

"Arin?! W-what are you doing?!" Christine nervously questioned in a shaky and fearful tone of voice when she saw that Arin was about to slit Ed's throat from what it looked like as Ashlynn timidly gulped and added equally as terrified "Seriously Arin what are you doing? Are you trying to kill him?" before Ed chuckled and respectfully tried to convince the bully to stop whatever he was about to do in a surprisingly calm and collected tone of voice "Arin…..I know you've never liked me,and it's absolutely no shock that I've never liked you,but you really do not want to do what I think you're gonna do. Because I got some good news here,I'm leaving the orphanage for good,you will never have to see my ugly mug around ever again,so just put the knife down,and I'll be on my way."

Arin however was not too keen on putting a stop to his goals as he merely growled and angrily retorted "I told you two to stay away from Christine and not talk to her,and it looks like you've deliberately disobeyed me huh?" to which Ed sneered and furiously asked in response "What in the world is it to you if we talk to her? And why should me and Ashlynn have to listen to you anyway?" before Christine surprisingly nodded her head and joined in on Ed's retort "Yeah and what makes you think that you OWN me Arin? Is it just because I'm a pretty girl and that makes you think I'm a prize to be won,or a trophy to be shown around? Well if that's the way you think of girls like me,then you can kiss any kind of affection in return goodbye."

"Shut up you dumb broad! This is between me and them!" Arin scoffed and fiercely demanded as he slightly increased the amount of pressure and force he was putting on Ed's neck with the knife before Ashlynn angrily gritted her teeth and threatened in response "Arin if you don't put that knife down and let Ed go,you'll be really sorry!" to which the bully gave off an ego filled smirk and retorted while he removed the knife from Ed's neck and pointed it over at Ashlynn "And just what do you think you're gonna do to me if I don't?"

"I'm not gonna do anything now,Ed is!" Ashlynn chuckled and smugly replied just before Ed quickly grabbed Arin's arm and tried to get him to drop the knife as the two kids got into a hefty struggle while Ashlynn and Christine watched and frantically yelled in unison "Get him Ed!" to which their friend turned his head towards them and nervously requested "Christine,you gotta go get help! The police,Mr Griffin,anyone!"

"Right!" Christine nodded her head and firmly obliged to do so as she quickly tried to run off to get some sort of help,only for Arin to grit his teeth and fiercely try to cut her off "Oh no you don't,you're staying right here!" before he shoved Ed far away from him and onto the ground with a sudden increase in his strength,quickly followed by him grabbing a nearby rock and launching it over at Christine's head,knocking her down to the ground with a loud thud as she yelped in pain.

"Christine!" Ashlynn gasped and yelled in a panic as she sprinted towards Christine with the attempt to try and help her get up,however Arin seemed to have gained another target in mind as he picked up another rock and called out with an evil grin "Oh you better watch out Ashlynn,I'm coming for you too!" to which the girl perked her head up and redirected her attention over to the bully who was about to throw a rock over at her head. Thankfully before Arin could throw the rock however,Ed had managed to intervene with the bully's plan since he suddenly ran past the kid and smacked him across the chops,quickly followed by him running back up to the bully and delivering two more blows the stomach and chin,resulting in Arin slowly leaning down on his knees and clenching his stomach in pain.

"You should have killed me back there,but enough is enough Arin! Stop all of this while you have the chance!" Ed sneered and bravely tried to convince Arin to put an end to his game as he leaned down to get closer to him,only for the bully to merely refuse since he tightly clenched the handle of his knife and quickly slashed it across Ed's left eye in one fell swoop to which the boy screamed at the top of his lungs and clenched his now bleeding eye in pain before he collapsed down on the ground.

Ashlynn and the now awake Christine were quickly alerted to Ed's current state of distress as they both redirected their attention over to the still screaming boy,and once they saw Ed rolling down on the ground in pain and Arin slowly standing up with a psychotic and malice filled grin on his face along with a blood covered knife in his hand,the former immediately demanded to know what had happened as she gasped and frantically asked while she helped Christine get up "Arin! What did you do?!" to which Ed tried his hardest to explain what had happened amidst his own crying "M-m-m-my…..my eye! My eye! I can't see!"

"What?! Oh my god!" Christine gasped and fearfully replied in a mixture of pure shock and anger as she started to feel herself get a little nauseous while Ashlynn on the other hand could feel herself turning red hot with anger since she gritted her teeth and furiously scolded the bully "Arin you maniac! Do you realize what you've done?! You just wait until Mr Griffin and the others hear about this,you'll be finished!"

However much to Ashlynn and Christine's own surprise and even kind of fear,Arin seemed to show absolutely no remorse for what he had just done whatsoever and merely chuckled with a slimy tone of voice as he tightly clenched the knife yet again,slowly began to walk towards the now frightened/trembling girls and calmly disagreed "Oh no one is ever gonna find out girls,and to do that I need to make sure that there are no witnesses-"

***GRAB!***

"What?!" Arin suddenly gasped and questioned in a startled and confused tone of voice when he had felt something grab the bottom of his leg as he tried to look behind him to see what it was,only for him to be quickly interrupted and prevented from doing so by him being dragged onto the ground at an incredible speed,and afterwards he was slowly turned over to be greeted by the sight of none other than an absolutely furious looking Ed laying down on top of him and heavily breathing with a bloody left eye.

"Ed?!" The two girls from up ahead gasped and called out to their friend in relief while Arin's confused and mortified look on his face slowly morphed into a twisted and maniacal grin as he mockingly insulted the boy "Well,well,well Eddo,I hope you'll grow to like being blind. Hahahahahah!" and it seemed that this was the straw that broke the camel's back since Ed had widened his eyes,gritted his teeth and started wailing on Arin's face in an uncontrollable fit of anger and rage.

***"All Alone No Escape" From The Last Of Us Begins To Play***

All of time seemed to have slowed down to a complete crawl as Ed continued to go at the now knocked out Arin,and even if he had known that he was already out cold,that wouldn't personally matter to him in the slightest. This was a long warranted slice of payback for everything that Arin had done to him all his life,insulting him,making him think no one would ever adopt him because he could talk to animals,trying to treat Christine like an object right in front of him,and now taking away his left eye.

After for what felt like an eternity of Ed punching the living daylights out of Arin's face,time would suddenly revert back to normal for the kid when he had felt someone grab and try to pull him off of the bully from behind,followed by what sounded like the voice of Ashlynn frantically yelling "Ed! Ed!" before what sounded like Christine meekly added in a much more calmed down tone of voice "Ed it's over,please stop." only for Ed to fiercely refuse as he could feel his only remaining eye well up with tears "No! No! Don't fucking touch me!"

However after about ten more seconds of this,Ashlynn seemed to have finally pried Ed off of Arin's now motionless body as she looked him dead in the face and sternly tried to calm him down "Ed,Ed,look at me,it's over. We're here,we're here." to which Ed's heavy breathing slowly started to well down to a crawl while he timidly whimpered "He…..he...he took-" only for him to be cut off when he suddenly started sobbing uncontrollably into Ashlynn's arms,which resulted in the red head along with Christine coming together for a group hug in an attempt to comfort him,all the while Arin lay down on the ground unconscious with his bloody knife laying next to him.

***Music Stops.***

**NEXT CHAPTER: DEPARTURE**

"**All Alone No Escape." Copyright Of Sony Interactive Entertainment And Naughty Dog. Composed By Gustavo Santaolalla.**


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13: FARWELL ED**

After Ed had thankfully managed to knock Arin's lights out after the bully had violently taken out his left eye,things seemed to finally be slowing down to a reasonable and even kind of relieving crawl,despite the fact that Ed was still very sore from his second fight with Arin. Ashlynn and Ed were both sitting up at the edge of the dock and the former seemed to be tending to the boy's wound the best that she could,all the while the unconscious Arin was tied up to a street pool while Christine went off to tell the police about all that had happened,excluding Ed's involvement of course.

"Okay,I think that should do it." Ashlynn sighed and stated in a calmed and relieved tone of voice as she put what looked like a small black eyepatch over Ed's now cleaned left eye before she politely asked with a small hint of concern "Are you feeling a little better now?" to which Ed chuckled and softly confirmed that he was "Yeah a little,my eye still hurts like hell though,really sucks that I won't be able to see anymore but...thanks for the help anyway Ashlynn."

"No problem Ed. I always knew that this eyepatch we won from the carnival trip would prove useful one day." Ashlynn nodded her head and happily replied with a small grin before Christine suddenly sat beside them on the edge of the dock and cheerfully remarked "Alright,I went over to the nearest payphone,called the police and told them everything about what happened,aside from Ed being here and all however. They should be here in about 10 minutes and take Arin off to the slammer." to which Ashlynn gave a deep sigh of relief and cathartically retorted "Thank god! I seriously hope that they take him to a mental ward,he's a nutcase!"

"Well as long as he's behind bars,he can't hurt us anymore." Ed chuckled and happily tried to look on the bright side of things before Christine noticed the eyepatch and softly gasped at the sight of it "Oh,the eyepatch looks nice on you Ed,but are you sure that you don't want to go to the hospital? I'm sure that the doctors there can find some way to get you a new eye,or something like that." only for Ed to merely shake his head and politely decline as he stood up,began to unwrap one of the tied up boats and tossed in his suitcase "Nah,I'm good,if anyone else finds out about this and tells Mr Griffin about all the times we snuck out,who knows how much trouble we could get in. Besides…..I think it's time that I head on out of here."

Ed then slowly turned around to face his two friends as he happily stated while they both stood up "Ashlynn…..I….I just want to thank you for everything you've done. It's thanks to you that I managed to get through all of this and…..even helped me find my true calling." before he gave her a hug that she quickly joined in on and bittersweetly replied "No problem at all Ed,you honestly did the same to me,thank you." Afterwards the two kids slowly let go of each other and Ed glanced over at a slightly tearing up Christine as he straightened out his slightly crooked fedora and somberly bid her farewell with a handshake "Christine,it was very nice meeting you,and I really hope that you are able to find a true,permanant home someday." before the girl smiled and enthusiastically agreed while a single tear slid down her cheek "Me too Ed,me too,and it was very nice meeting you too. Good luck out there."

However it was then and there that the kids' heartfelt goodbye was suddenly interrupted when they started hearing what sounded like police sirens approaching from afar as Ed perked up and playfully announced in a frenzy while he jumped down in the boat and quickly began riding off "Oh man,that looks like my que to go,take care you two!" before the two kids waved goodbye and happily called out "Bon Voyage Ed!" to which the boy chuckled and waved back in response,before he slowly directed his attention over behind him to the wide open world that lay before him.

_**Ed:**_

_I will beat the odds!_

_I can go the distance!_

_I will face the world!_

_Fearless,proud and strong!_

_I will please the gods!_

_I can go the distance._

_Till I find my hero's welcome right!_

_Where __I belong!_

**NEXT CHAPTER: THE STORYBOOK CLOSES**

"**Go The Distance Reprise." Copyright Of Walt Disney Records. Written By Alan Menken And David Zippel. **


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14: EPILOGUE**

"Wow,I'm completely speechless babe. I feel like I just met you for the first time now." Rebecca quietly remarked in a mixture of shock and awe as she and the group were slowly walking towards the movie theater despite Peppermint Patty,Franklin and Lucy still not joining up with Ed,Claudia,Marcie and Rebecca yet to which Thibault added equally as bewildered and dumbfounded "So that's why you were that eyepatch all the time." before Rattler suddenly continued his sentence for him "And why you never seem to take it off too."

"Yep,even after all these years I can't see anything out of this particular eye,but don't worry,I've gotten used to it." Ed nodded his head and somberly stated in response as he lightly tapped on his left eye before Marcie sighed and impressively stated "Well that sure was quite the story Ed. It's also weird to think that the rest of us were all living our lives normally while all this was happening." to which Claudia shrugged her arms and politely retorted "W-well Sparkyville i-is a b-big place,we can't s-see everything t-that goes on in t-town."

"Yeah or else we could have stopped the fires caused by Tarantula and her cronies." Thibault couldn't help but agree with Claudia's response as Rebecca shuddered at the thought and meekly replied "Thank god I was out of town at the time,that must have been nuts for all of you." before Rattler nodded her head and somewhat sternly retorted "Yeah,so nuts that I don't want to be reminded of it." to which Ed stretched out his arms and cheerfully remarked "Well you don't have to be reminded of it anymore because we finally made it to the theater. So you,Andy and Thibault can finally skedaddle if you want."

"Alright,catch you later Eddo." Rattler rolled her eyes and happily obliged to leave Ed and the rest of the group alone as she,Thibault and Andy began to head back to their homes,however they wouldn't even be able to take five steps away from the theater before Ed suddenly called out to them "Hey hold up!" to which the three of them stopped dead in their tracks and turned around to face the group while Thibault promptly responded "Yeah Ed?"

However it was then and there that Ed slowly began to develop a smug and egotistical grin on his face as he politely requested "While us,Patty,Lucy and Franklin are in the movie,why don't y'all round up the rest of the gang and tell them about a certain place we could meet up afterwards?" and it seemed that was all Rattler needed to know about what Ed was talking about as she grew a very small smile and respectfully obliged "You know Ed,you may be a very weird kid,but I kinda like that about you. You got a deal,come on you two,let's round everyone up." before she,Andy and Thibault headed off to fulfill Ed's request.

* * *

Later on during the night,long after the groups' movie had come to a close,everyone in the gang including Charlie Brown, Freida, Linus, Eudora, Sally, Michael, Peppermint Patty, Franco, Marcie, Hans, Pig-Pen, Sidney, Franklin, Melaine, Joslyn, Claudia, Skylar, Krissy, Red, Lucy, Scheroder, Freddy Fabulous, Francesca, Violet, Shermy, Patty Swanson, Ox, Ed, Rebecca, Cobra, Dominick, Rerun, Piper, James, Ashlynn, Snoopy, Woodstock, Amy, Jasper, Andy, Olaf, Gracie, Roger, the rest of the beagle scouts/birds and even Christine who Rattler and Thibault had managed to track down at her new home in Sparkyville after going to the orphanage and finding out that she was finally adopted,had all gathered together at the very same club that Ed had talked about in his story,and they were all having a very good time on the dance floor and at the arcade to put it very lightly. And in the back of Ed's mind,he knew that having all of these friends after going for such a long time with barely any,only further proved the fact that him leaving the orphanage was the best decision of his entire life.

_**Rebecca:**_

_We've done a lot._

_**Claudia:**_

_Faced who knows what?_

_**Peppermint Patty: **_

_Still though we're not quite through yet._

_**Freida: **_

_We have so much to do yet._

_**Marcie:**_

_More than a thing or two yet._

_**Sally:**_

_There's wounds we must heal._

_**Violet: **_

_Plans to make real._

_**Patty Swanson:**_

_Watch us and we'll do wonders._

_**Lucy: **_

_Sure we might make some blunders._

_**Christine:**_

_We'll face them all head on._

_**Linus:**_

_We'll rise hand in hand._

_**Eudora:**_

_And rebuild this land._

_**Ed:**_

_We're ready to stand and roar._

_(Snoopy,Andy and Olaf imitate lion roars.)_

_**Charlie Brown:**_

_Will we give up?_

_**Freida:**_

_No never._

_**Charlie Brown,Freida,Franklin,And Melaine:**_

_We're stronger than ever before._

_**Andy:**_

_We've made mistakes._

_**Olaf:**_

_Had some bad breaks._

_**Andy And Olaf:**_

_That only makes us tougher._

_**Woodstock:**_

_Now when the road gets rougher._

_**Snoopy: **_

_Frankly we'll barely suffer._

_**Cobra:**_

'_Cause though we've been burned._

_**Rattler:**_

_What have we learned?_

_**Thibault And Ed:**_

_Victory is earned._

_Not given._

_**Joslyn:**_

_We shape the world we live in._

_**Boys: **_

_We're what we'll build upon._

_**All:**_

_The war may be won._

_But still we're not done._

_We've only begun to soar._

_**Peppermint Patty,Ashlynn And Marcie:**_

_Older._

_**Franco,Pig-Pen,Hans,James And Dominick:**_

_And far more clever._

_**All:**_

_And stronger than ever before._

_**Skylar:**_

_There's miles yet to go._

_**Girls:**_

_How far? We don't know._

_**Rerun And Piper:**_

_But we can do so much more!_

_**Francesca:**_

_On to the next endeavor._

_**All:**_

_We're stronger than ever._

_**Rebecca:**_

_We'll never say "never."_

_**Ed: **_

_We're stronger than ever-_

_**All: **__before!_

**The End.**

**Author's Note**

**I originally had another song in mind for this ending as a montage,but I eventually decided to have it be a big musical number featuring the entire gang. I tried really hard to get almost everyone a part in the song. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed a small look into Ed's backstory,but that doesn't mean that the stories around him are over,because there's one in particular where he meets a certain wolf that I want to do one day. See you later everyone.**

"**Stronger Than Ever Before." Copyright Of Walt Disney Television. Written By Alan Menken And Glenn Slater.**

**(LivingOnLaughs And HPDrummerman's OC's Are Copyright Of Theirs And Theirs Alone.)**


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